


Freestyle

by Cheshyr



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Mutiny, Pack Family, They work it out though, Um...Pre-sterek? ish?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-03
Updated: 2012-08-03
Packaged: 2017-11-11 09:01:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/476851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheshyr/pseuds/Cheshyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles doesn't want to be pack. Stiles is a bad influence. Derek's life is not allowed to be easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freestyle

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'd. Not season two compatible. Guess who does what she waaants?  
> This is very similar to my other story, "Vinaigrette", especially in the beginning, but it is actually completely different. Honest!

Derek should have known that even with his uncle gone, and alpha-power streaming through his veins, that nothing about his life would be simple. Not even the roles people played in it.

It started on a Thursday afternoon, when Stiles Stilinski was walking to his jeep after school only to be halted by his best friend calling after him.

“Stiles!” Scott jogged over to him, “Derek called a pack meeting.”

The boy in question raised an eyebrow, “And?”

“Um, we’re supposed to go there now. Apparently he wants to run those defense drills again.”

“Again?” Stile groaned as he climbed into his car and started the engine, his friend hopping into the passenger seat without even bothering to ask. “Why do I even have to come to these? I already know self-defense. And offense!” 

Scott shrugged, “I guess he just wants to make sure we’re all prepared in case anything like what happened with Peter goes down again.”

“I get that, but this just seems excessive. We’ve been doing stuff like this practically every day for the past two weeks! I think we’ve earned a break by now.”

“Yeah, maybe…” the other teen sighed. Before they knew it, they were turning down the uneven forest road.

Stiles huffed, “I’m serious, he needs to ease up.”

“Yeah, well you tell him.” Scott grumbled from his seat.

“Fine, I will.” 

Now the werewolf snapped his head around, “What? You can’t do that!”

Stiles raised an eyebrow as he parked the car in front of the dilapidated mansion, “Why not?”

“He’s the alpha!”

“He’s _your_ alpha.”

Scott gaped, but before he could respond, Stiles jumped out of the car, rushing into the house where the rest of the group had already assembled and ignoring Scott who slunk behind him, still dumbfounded. 

“Derek!” He called out as he enters, “Why the Hell do I have to come to these? I’ve got other stuff to do besides learn the same three moves fifteen times, you know.”

The older werewolf narrowed his eyes at the human as the other teens looked at each other nervously. “Stiles…”

“I’m serious, you think my life revolves around preparing for every possible supernatural attack? Sorry, but that doesn’t fly.”

“Stiles.”

“Especially since I’m not allowed to tell my dad about any of this so he is still fully expecting me to actually pass my classes.”

“Stiles-“

“If you could at least let me in on what exactly it is your expecting us to be fighting off anytime soon, then maybe I could justify it but still-“

“STILES!” Derek barked, silencing the chattering boy. The alpha growled menacingly, “All meetings are mandatory for all pack members. No matter what.”

Stiles was silent for a moment, before raising his eyebrows with a look of realization. “I am _not_ pack.” he stated plainly.

“What? Of course you are!” Allison spoke up from her seat on the couch.

Derek furrowed his brow, “Stiles, pack isn’t limited to werewolves-“

“I know _that_.” The teenager rolled his eyes. “There were humans in your family and they were pack. What I mean is, I don’t _want_ to be pack.” Stiles was only met with stunned silence. He blinked nonchalantly, “So… can I go home then?”

The expressions he received were varied, from Jackson, who looked mildly offended, Allison, who looked confused, Scott, who looked forlorn, Lydia, who looked intrigued, to Derek, who looked just plain stunned.

“But… why don’t you want to be pack?” Scott whimpered.

Stiles sighed heavily and put his hands on his hips, “I will not,” He said slowly, enunciating each word carefully as if he were explaining this to children, “put myself in a situation where I am obligated to take orders.” After a pause, he shrugged, “Which is not to say I’ll never listen to you, or wont take orders when I agree with them. But I prefer the freedom to disagree.” He cocked his head to the side, “Are you guys honestly surprised? Think about everything you know about me. Do I honestly seem like the type of person to do what I’m told just because I’m a lower rank? I wouldn’t do well with the unyielding structure of pack life. If I was pack, I would only disrupt the delicate balance that our newly appointed alpha has established.” He threw Derek a thumbs up, but the werewolf only dropped his jaw indignantly.

“But, but…” Scott’s eyes were wide and sad, “you’re supposed to be pack with us!” 

Stiles smiled fondly at his friend, reaching over to pat his shoulder reassuringly, “There, there, Scott. I’m still your friend, ally, support system, etcetera. You just can’t tell me what to do.” 

There was a beat of silence, and then the room erupted into noise, everyone talking at once. Stiles sighed, and was almost positive that this would not end well.

~

Stiles hated being right.

Sure enough, the next day Stiles was approached in front of his locked by a surly looking Jackson. 

“I want to join your pack.”

Stiles felt his jaw drop. “Um, excuse me?”

The lacrosse captain looked away, arms crossed, jaw set, and the very picture of displeasure. He looked like this was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. “You heard me.”

“Yeah, but I think I heard you wrong because it sounded like you said you wanted to join my pack and there is a laundry-list of things wrong with that statement.”

“Look, just… come here.” Stiles yelped as he was grabbed roughly by the upper-arm and dragged to a less populated area of the hallway. Releasing the smaller teen, Jackson glared down at him. “Alright Stilinski, the thing is, you might have made some valid points the other day.” Stiles blinked, because that sounded like Jackson-speak for “you were right”.

Shaking his head, Stiles responded, “Well in that case, you must have also heard the part where I don’t actually _have_ a pack. That was sort of the whole point.”

“I know that! It’s just… In case you haven’t figured this out yet, I don’t actually _like_ taking orders from anyone.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. You could barely handle being a co-captain.”

“Shut up.” The werewolf growled. “The point is, I’d rather be in a pack where I can speak up, than one where I’m just a lackey.”

“Then why be a part of any pack? Why not just leave like I did?”

“Because Derek talked to us about that when we were first turned.” Jackson shifted uncomfortably. “Long story short, apparently being a lone werewolf doesn’t tend to work out very well, and I’d really prefer not being ripped apart or maimed just because I’m not affiliated with some larger unit.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes, “How do you know he wasn’t just trying to scare you guys into sticking around?”

“If he was…” He mumbled the last part under his breath and Stiles raised an eyebrow.

“Come again? I have human hearing, you have to enunciate.”

Jackson glared and Stiles was very happy that he was at school where people would notice if Jackson tried to kill him. “I said, if he was, it worked. I don’t want to risk it. And as much as Derek bugs me, I don’t really feel like killing anyone to try to become the alpha myself.”

“That and you’d totally lose.” The teen is silenced with another glare.

“Look, will you let me join your pack or what?” Jackson snapped.

Stiles thought about it for a moment before sighing. “Fine, fine. But I want it noted that I am agreeing to this under duress.”

“Noted.”

“Okay. Then… welcome I guess?”

The other boy rolled his eyes and walked away, “Go to class, Stilinski.”

Huffing, Stiles turned and did just that, trying to ignore the feeling that things were about to get crazy.

~

Stiles _really_ hated when he was right.

“ _What?!_ ”

Lydia raised an eyebrow. “I know Jackson is a part of your pack. I want in, too.”

Lunch had just started a few minutes earlier, and Stiles was sitting at a table in the corner of the room when the strawberry-blonde had marched up and demanded to be let into his pack. Sitting across from him, Allison and Scott both turned to Stiles in surprise.

The huntress blinked, “You have a pack?”

“Why didn’t you invite me?” And God, Scott somehow managed to look and sound like an actual kicked puppy.

Stiles’ arms flailed as he cried out, “No! I mean, technically yes, but not like-“

“Yes you do and you will let me join.” Lydia narrowed her eyes menacingly. “You think I like being growled at every time I try to give my vastly superior opinion? At least with you we’d have more of a fair say.”

“She makes a good point. And Derek does tend to keep us out of the loop on most stuff.” Scott frowned as he thought about it, “Like the whole thing with the cure for the bite.” The teen still sounded bitter, and Allison took his hand under the table, smiling sympathetically.

Stiles sighed, “Look, guys, remember when I said all that stuff about not wanting to be in a pack?” He received three nods, “What part of any of that did you take to mean I wanted my _own_ pack? I don’t want to be in charge of a system I disagree with.”

“Then change it.” Allison stated matter-of-factly. 

Blinking in surprise, Stiles sent her a questioning glance, prompting her to elaborate with a shrug, “Think about it. If you didn’t agree the way Derek was running the pack, than _you_ running it is the perfect opportunity for you to change the things you don’t like.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“Just cause you’re in charge doesn’t mean you have to be the same as Derek. You actually have more freedom to do things your way.”

“Hm.” Stiles considered that for a moment. Then he grinned and pointed to Allison. “Scott, my first order of business as pack leader: Marry her.”

Scott blushed, while his girlfriend and best friend laughed. Lydia rolled her eyes. “Whatever, does this mean you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, sure. Why not?”

“Good. Then we’re having a pack meeting at your place after school. I’ll tell Jackson.” And with that, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and strode out of the room. 

Stiles blinked after her, “Well alright then.” He looked at the two remaining teens, “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“Probably.”

~

“Okay, so… Welcome to our first pack meeting.” Stiles stood awkwardly before the four teens sitting on his couch. He had lucked out that his father hadn’t been home, allowing the newly formed pack some space to figure out what the Hell they were doing. Stiles rubbed the back of his head, “Um… what am I supposed to do now?”

“Oh my God….” Jackson groaned, letting his head drop back, while Lydia gave her least impressed look ever.

Luckily, Allison was there to smile supportively. “Just tell us how this pack is going to work, since it’s going to be different than before.”

“Right.” Stiles straightened up, trying to appear more confident. “So, technically I’m the leader-“

“Alpha.” Scott chimed in.

“Sure, whatever. The point is, that is really just a title. This is a democracy. We all get a say. No one ‘outranks’ anyone else.”

“Alright, this sounds good so far.” Lydia stated.

Stiles beamed, proud of himself, but before he could bask in the moment for too long, Scott’s phone started ringing. Pulling it out, Scott frowned at the screen. “It’s Derek.” 

“Oh yeah, I meant to ask how he took you guys all ditching.” The four teens all pointedly looked away, fidgeting guiltily. The phone continued ringing.

The silence stretched a few beats, before Stiles felt his eyes widen. “You guys didn’t _tell him?!_ ” He screeched. 

Jackson shrugged, “We figured it was a discussion that should take place between alphas.” The phone momentarily stopped ringing, only for Lydia’s to start ringing immediately after.

“Well as alpha I am delegating. I am delegating this task to ANYONE but me!” Stiles exclaimed, his voice laced with panic. 

“Maybe he’ll just, figure it out?” Scott suggested.

Groaning, Stiles hesitated for another few seconds before finally snatching Lydia’s still ringing phone from her hands and flipping it open. “Heyyy, Derek.” He answered nervously.

“Stiles? Where is everyone, Scott didn’t answer his phone.” Derek’s voice growled across the phone.

The teenager paced jerkily through the room, “Haha, yeah, well, it’s a funny story about that. You see, they’re all here. At… You know what, location’s not important. But see, they all sort of decided that apparently they wanted to, uh, join me. In a… pack-like sense.”

Stiles can practically feel the glare burning through the connection. 

“Stiles. What are you talking about.” The werewolf’s voice is eerily steady.

“Um, I sorta kinda… have a pack now? And, it’s entirely possible that that pack consists of, um… your… former… pack?”

There was a beat of silence, before Derek finally exploded, “WHAT?!”

Flinching, Stiles tried to appease the angry man, “Look, it’s not so bad. They just didn’t quite agree with the way you were operating, so maybe we could-“

“No, I am their alpha and I say they need to get to my place _now_.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes and stilled his pacing, “You know, this is exactly the attitude that drove them away.” The teens on the couch looked at each other before turning back to Stiles, whose face had hardened with resolve.

“They aren’t your pack.”

“Apparently they are.”

“Stiles, you don’t know how to run a pack!” Derek barked.

“Well you don’t know how to run _this_ pack!” Stiles countered angrily. “Trust me when I say that all of your underlings skipping out is a red flag about your leadership skills.”

The line goes quiet, and Stiles almost immediately feels a pang of guilt. He hadn’t meant to be so mean, he knew Derek was new to the whole alpha thing and was trying his best, but at the same time if his pack was unhappy something had to be done.

He sighed, “Look, why don’t we go somewhere and talk about this, alpha to alpha.”

“You are _not_ an-“

“I am now. So do you want to try to work this out or would you rather lose your entire pack in one foul swoop?” Stiles clamped down on his lip, regretting the phrasing of his words instantly, but still waited for the other to respond. 

“…Fine.”

The teen let out a sigh of relief, “Alright. Why don’t we meet at Lori’s Diner in an hour. You know where that is?”

“Yes.” And Derek hung up. 

Stiles blinked a few times before closing the phone and handing it back to Lydia. “Okay, looks like we’re going to try to fix this whole thing.”

“But we don’t _want_ to be in Derek’s pack.” Jackson growled, “That the whole reason we came to you.”

“It’s not Derek, it’s the way he’s doing things. You know that if I got him to realize the error of his ways you wouldn’t mind.” He stared the group down, but none of them denied it. Nodding, he continued, “I’ll talk to him and see if I can’t get him to understand the problem. Worst case scenario, you guys can just stick with me, fair?” The teens nodded in response. “Excellent. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go mentally prepare myself to point out the flaws of a very angry alpha werewolf.”

~

The diner was not particularly crowded, which was nice because it meant that the two boys could have some privacy, but there were still enough people that Stiles felt confident the werewolf wouldn’t try to kill him. The teenager got there a little early, so he grabbed a booth in the back where they could discuss the matter in semi-solitude.

When Derek finally walked in, Stiles was laced with another stab of guilt. The man was scowling, face hard and angry as always, but his eyes had a thin veil of misery over them. Derek had had a rough life, and he dealt with it pretty well all things considered. But he had lost his entire family due to things outside his control, and just when he had finally pulled together some semblance of his old life, a pack of his own that was almost like family, they had all abandoned him. Stiles really hoped they could find a way to work this out for everyone.

Sliding into the seat across from him, Derek immediately pierced Stiles with a very angry glare that left no doubt in Stiles’ mind that it had been a good idea to suggest meeting in a public place. “Okay, can I just start off by saying that I in no way intended to steal your pack or anything?” The only response was a low growl, and Stiles sighed. “I know you’re upset, but they left because they didn’t like your way of running things. If you change that, they’ll come back.”

“I was running things just fine.”

“Apparently not. They didn’t like having no say in how anything was done and always having to obey you unquestioningly. The hierarchy wasn’t fair.”

Derek snapped, “I’m the alpha, that’s how packs work!”

“All of them?” The werewolf paused. “Are all packs that strict or just the one you grew up with?”

“That’s how traditional packs work.”

Narrowed eyes flashed red, and Stiles knew he was very close to crossing a line, but this was important, so he pressed on. “Derek look, I’m not saying there’s anything _wrong_ with a traditional pack hierarchy-“

“Then why are you trying to destroy it?”

“Hush!” the human glared at him, “Just listen, okay?” He waited until the werewolf nodded slowly before continuing. “I’m not trying to ‘destroy’ traditional packs or any such thing. I’m just trying to change it for _us_. The fact is, you were raised in that rigid pack structure. We weren’t. We have grown and developed outside of the mold you’re used to. But that doesn’t mean it’s ‘bad’, per say. It’s… It’s kind of like the army.”

Derek furrowed his brow, “Huh?” 

“The army is a very good thing, absolutely. We need those guys, I respect them. And there are people in the world who do well in a military system. Thrive, even, whether giving or receiving orders. And that is perfectly fine. But _you_ just happened to wind up with five teenagers who are absolutely _not_ designed for that lifestyle. And that sucks for you, tough break, really. But trying to force us into that way of life is not going to help anyone.”

The werewolf considered that, forehead creased in deliberation. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Stiles gave him a sympathetic smile, “I know this is new for you, too. So you can’t expect to get everything right straight away. There’s going to be a period of trial and error. But you can’t assume that what worked for you and your family will work with us.”

For a moment, the two just sit across form each other, Derek deep in though, and Stiles bouncing his leg nervously under the table.

“So…” the alpha began carefully, “if I loosen the structure a bit, give the pack more freedom to question and give their opinion… they’ll come back?” 

“It’s really up to them, but I think so, yes.”

“Fine.” Derek stood abruptly, “Tell them to come to my place and we’ll settle all this.” And just like that he was gone. 

Stiles let out a slow exhale, hissing through his teeth. 

“Well. That went better then expected.”

~

Honestly, sometimes Stiles wondered how this was his life. He rubbed his forehead, feeling like a teacher dealing with a group of petulant children. Derek was doing his usual menacing glare, Jackson and Lydia both looked pouty and defiant, Scott looked worried, and Allison looked like she couldn’t believe the stuff she put up with. Stiles could relate. 

“Alright, here’s how this is going to work,” Stiles put his hands on his hips, looking at everyone in turn, “Derek is still alpha. He knows the most about the supernatural existence that we have all been sucked into. However, as his pack, you are all allowed to ask questions as you see fit. And Derek,” he turned to the older werewolf, “when they do, you have to actually _answer_. Explain so they understand, and then everyone will be happier.” He paused in thought, “In the event of a life-threatening situation which, let’s be real here, is practically inevitable, you guys _have_ to trust each other. If someone says ‘do this or die’, trust that they mean it and maybe don’t pull an extensive interrogation at that moment. This goes both ways!” Stiles pointed dramatically to the group, “Whether it’s Derek telling you guys, or the pack telling the alpha, for the love of God, have faith that you guys actually want each other to stay alive.” He waited until he received nods from everyone before crossing his arms, “In normal circumstances, just use your words, kay? Discussion is actually a valid solution for half the issues you guys get yourselves into. Does this work for everyone?”

“Yeah,” Jackson responded half-reluctantly, “that sounds like a good compromise.”

“So, you’re all a part of my pack again?” Derek tried to sound authoritative, but there was a note of hopefulness he couldn’t quite keep out of his voice, and they all saw the look of relief on his face when the group of teens nodded in agreement. Or at least, most of the teens.

Stiles rubbed the back of his head guiltily, “Well, not me.”

“What?!” The entire group burst into noise, talking at once, but Derek’s deep voice rang through the clamor, “I though we had an agreement?”

“Yeah, well, I thought about it.” Stiles ran his fingers over his short hair sheepishly, “The thing is, I think it would be better for everyone if I remained a neutral third party. Sort of like a mediator in case anyone ever has any issues calling each other out on their shit.”

“But Stiles-“

“We want you to be with us-“

“We’re supposed to be a real pack now-“

“Why don’t you-“

“Oh my _God_!” Stiles exclaimed, slapping his forehead in frustration. “This is only an issue if you guys _make_ it an issue. You don’t _have_ to treat me different. We’re still friends, I can still be a part of this little makeshift family or whatever. If you want to treat me like pack, I’ll treat _you guys_ like pack, too. It’s just a formality of titles to assist with conflict resolution.”

For a moment, the group is silent, mulling over the human’s words. 

Finally, Scott shuffled in place, “I guess that makes sense.” The group of teen then turned in unison to Derek, who was still staring at Stiles looking not entirely pleased with this new turn of events.

But then, he let out a sigh. “Fine, that will work.”

Stiles turned to beam at his friends, who smiled back, all glad that a solution had been reached. “SO! Who feels this calls for a group hug?” Stiles threw his arms out.

Jackson groaned, Lydia rolled her eyes, Scott and Allison smiled and shook their heads fondly, and Derek closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Stiles grinned widely.

This pack thing might just work out after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hmmm, I can't decide how I feel about this one. I wrote it kind of quickly... This rewrite was prompted by a very satisfying conversation with ShadowKnight about the other version of this, and I felt it would be interesting to explore. :)
> 
> Also, I know this doesn't have a lot of Sterek in it, but... it just didn't fit! I tried, but everything I did just felt tacked on haphazardly. No smooth flow or anything. So we'll just say it's pre-sterek. ;)
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Still working on that multi-chap story, I just wanted to get this one out of my head first, but that should be up within the next few days. (What is this "sleep" thing people keep bugging me about?)  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
